1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to theatrical productions. More particularly, the invention concerns a method and apparatus for producing optical illusions.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A number of methods and apparatus for producing optical illusions have been suggested in the past. A very early apparatus of this type was disclosed by Pepper and Walker in U.S. Pat. No. 221,605 that was first patented in England in March of 1879. Pepper and Walker suggested an arrangement of apparatus to render an actor or object gradually visible or invisible at will and also to substitute for an object in the sight of the audience the image of another similar object hidden from direct vision without the audience being aware that any such substitution had been made. At the heart of the Pepper and Walker apparatus was a large plate of glass which was transparent and more and more densely silvered in passing from one end toward the other end. The plate glass was placed diagonally across the stage so that as it was advanced the glass obscured the view of the actor or object in front of which it passed and substituted the reflection of an object in front of the glass, but suitably concealed from the direct view of the audience.
In recent years, a number of different types of apparatus have been suggested for performing optical illusions both on stage and in the media of television and motion pictures. These apparatus tend to be quite elaborate and are typically complex and usually quite expensive. The thrust of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for performing optical illusions that is of a simple construction and one that can be relatively inexpensively constructed and easily set up for performing optical illusions on a conventional theatrical stage. However, the apparatus can be readily adapted for use in other performing media.